The amendment was approved, 57-43. But support around the state was evenly distributed. In fact, majorities in three of the Capital Region's four core counties voted against it -- one of the majority "no" counties was Saratoga, which has a good chance of ending up with a casino. [NYS BOE]

We pulled the unofficial vote tallies on the casino amendment and mapped the results by county. Two clickable maps are after the jump.

A few things to keep in mind when looking at the maps:
+ Because of legislation passed this past summer, the initial batch of casinos is limited to four in three regions: the Hudson Valley-Catskill area, the Capital District-Saratoga area, and the Central-Southern Tier.
+ The Cuomo admin also worked out a deal with the Seneca nation in western New York to keep new casinos out of that area in return for the Senecas paying the state and local municipalities there based on revenue from the nation's three already-existing casinos.

Funny how the people who won't be living near the casino voted for it. Then again, I voted against expanding mining into Adirondack Park and I don't live there.

So, folks, we've just won a casino that the majority of us don't want. I grew up in an area that introduced Riverboat gambling on the Mississippi River in the early 90's and we were promised a boom and all we got were hookers and gambling addiction. That's not fair - we did get some revenue for schools, which is great.

I guess if we're getting it no matter what, let's make the best of it. There's a crapton of money in gambling (just look at what the lobbyists paid our elected officials leading up to this), so why don't we get those folks (the mob or whoever it is) to foot the bill to tear down our big ugly blighted building off 787 (you know the one that's been discussed here repeatedly) and turn it into our Albany attraction. It would have easy Interstate access, not really be in the backyards of too many folks, would encourage a better way to get from the Amtrak station to downtown Albany, etc. Just a thought.

To me, attempting to raise revenue for the state through gambling is like a snake eating its own tail. But I'm not talking about some mystical Ouroboros... I'm talking about a literal snake, literally eating its own tail.

It's ridiculous to have to have a state constitutional amendment to allow a business to exist. Why should a casino be any different than a ski resort or mall? Regulate the environmental and traffic impact, and let supply and demand dictate success or failure of the venture, but don't deny the opportunity for casinos based on the element of gambling.

Ski resorts and malls don't have the same impacts that casinos do. This is not about the environment and traffic, it's about how the casinos will impact the communities and public health and services. Reducing your Medicare taxes sounds great until you have a marked increase in gambling addicts, health issues, and drug and other crime cases that often come with the package. The actual economic benefits are also questionable; casinos can act like a regressive tax, especially if patrons are not from outside the area but employees are, ultimately eroding the tax base you're so worried about even further. The fact is, we don't yet know where the cash will come from and where it will go to. What's ridiculous is allowing some snake oil salesman to put up shop in your town with the promise of free money.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do this, which is why the public has to be involved and we need a tight leash. Don't forget that the house always wins.

There's a casino in Montreal and seems to be working out just fine for them. People can leave and gamble and another state benefits or they can stay and gamble and we benefit, it's that easy. If we were voting on the first casino in the northeast, that would be a different story.

So Albany stands to get $2,725,425 towards property tax and schools - isn't that like 1% of the budget? Woofreakinhoo. Really nice that this was released AFTER the people voted. It's so slimy and doesn't feel at all like democracy.

Just a nitpick, but when you're showing yes/no data in a graphic like this, it would be a lot more intuitive to have had the no be red and the yes be, say, green. But very interesting nonetheless, thanks for putting it together.

Like always, people focus on the symptom and not the system. Gambling isn't the issue. Neither are taxes. Schools? Nope. The root of the problem is that we've created a system, a way of living, that isn't working as we thought it would. The problem AND the solution, comes from us, our values. Esoteric? Maybe. But if the people want a new way of living (low taxes, properly educated and funded schools, etc.) then they will have to change the way they think. Continue to think the same, and you will continue to experience the same. The symptom may be covered up a bit, but another will always arise.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

name:

email address: (won't be displayed)

web site:

comment:

The Scoop

Ever wish you had a smart, savvy friend with the inside line on what's happening around the Capital Region? You know, the kind of stuff that makes your life just a little bit better? Yeah, we do, too. That's why we created All Over Albany. Find out more.

Regional Economic Development Council awards The winners of the annual Regional Economic Development Council grants are expected to be announced today. $750 million will be... (more)

Recent Comments

I grew up in the Utica area and moved out here in 1998. It really is funny how different the cultures are less than 100 miles away.
It's more laid back in the Utica/Syracuse area, and the culture is much more "country" whereas Albany and a lot of the are around it is much more fast paced and has more of a NYC influence. Both are nice places to live, but definitely different vibes.